Prospect Injuries -- Latest: A Caleb Gindl Update

[Mass Haas]

Apparently Angel Salome's recent absences have been due to a minor injuury to his hand when a foul tip got him. We should see him back any time now.

 

Alex Periard (shoulder) is throwing, making progress, and we should see him ease back into action, initially at Wisconsin at some point.

 

2008's 8th round pick, OF Erik Komatsu, has been slow to come back as he was dealing with a combination of a wrist injury, but more importantly, a concussion. The Brewers are understandably being cautious.

 

Thanks to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com for following up on our inquiries.

[Never Outhustled]

Thats pretty good news on all 3. Its good to hear Salome's absense isn't ongoing back problems. Its relieving that Periard doesn't need shoulder surgery. As I said earlier in this thread, sometimes cortisone shots do work.

 

Also, I'm hoping Josh Romanski is one of those guys, like Amaury Rivas, that comes back from TJ surgery with a few ticks more velocity. He would then become a serious prospect when combined with his athletism, command, and offspeed arsenal.

[TooLiveBrew]

Yeah, I feared Salome was dealing with more back WOAHs. Great news, and great updates as always Mass Haas.

[Minigoon]

Dan Merklinger went on the DL April 18th. I haven't been able to find out what the injury was. Anyone remember?

[Mass Haas]

Merklinger injured his leg on a play in this game.

 

No word as to the exact nature or extent of the injury, but it's been six weeks, so it was pretty severe. Was is season-ending? Hope not, but we'll try and find out.

[kramnoj]

Per http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/46498377.html Cap is at least a month away from pitching in games (meaning minor league games). So there's a chance he can contribute towards the end of the season, but it's too soon to have any idea right now.

[TooLiveBrew]

Continued good luck, Cappy! The team could use your help, however much you may be able to give.

[Mass Haas]

We've learned that Brent Brewer's recent missed games (or replacements for a pinch-runner) down at Brevard are related to a hamstring strain.

[Mass Haas]

Post-Crescent Blog: Lawrie to have surgery on broken nose Monday, will miss a few games

[wibadgers23]

Any update on Cain? Can somebody please remind me, what was his injury and how long was he expected to be out?

[Mass Haas]

Injured his knee diving for a ball, fortunately avoided season-ending surgery, we should see Cain by July, you'd think.

[logan82]

Man, I hope Lawrie doesn't miss the June 13th game. That will be my first T-Rats game ever.

[Mass Haas]

Adam McCalvy from this past weekend:

Gord Ash also said that right-hander Nick Green, whose Triple-A season has been interrupted by soreness in the 'lat' muscle behind his right shoulder, is rehabbing in Phoenix and is "a couple weeks away" from returning.

[Mass Haas]

MLB.com's Adam McCalvy once again helps us out:

 

Right-hander Mike Jones, the injury-plagued former first-round Draft pick and onetime top Brewers pitching prospect, was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Double-A Huntsville over the weekend. But he was battling an illness, not an arm problem, according to assistant general manager Gord Ash.

[brewmann04]

well that Great News on Jones that it Not his Arm and hopefully the Illness is not Serious .

[Mass Haas]

From Adam McCalvy's MLB.com blog post:

Right-hander R.J. Seidel is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with the rookie-level Arizona Brewers on Wednesday. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told us in April that Seidel was out for the year after "tearing up" his knee when he slipped on some ice over the winter, but perhaps that assessment has changed. Seidel is a Wisconsin native drafted in the 16th round by the Brewers in 2006.

[battlekow]

Taylor Green's Facebook status is "needs a new rib", so I would guess that explains why he's missed some time. He hasn't been hit by a pitch recently, so I'm not sure when or how he got hurt.

[Mass Haas]

Taylor Green's Facebook status is "needs a new rib", so I would guess that explains why he's missed some time. He hasn't been hit by a pitch recently, so I'm not sure when or how he got hurt.

Now that's some serious detective work. Taylor just broke MiLB's own HIPPA privacy laws.

[biedergb]

Mass -- I know your joking about it , but to be technical I believe the HIPAA privacy laws pertain to third parties (ie, hospitals, doctors, trainers, teams, etc). A person can tell anyone they want about their own injuries or health issues.

But my real point/question is that I believe some teams have injury rules that tells players not to reveal their injuries (think NFL or playoff NHL). I'm not sure if the Brewers are one of those teams.

[TheCrew07]

This has been bothering me all day, what exactly does "needs a new rib" mean? Did he somehow break a rib, did he have one removed? Is it a joke of some sort? I say boohiss to half information.

[battlekow]

Garrett Sherrill has a partially torn UCL. He'll be shut down at least through July, and might be done for the year.

[battlekow]

I say it, they write it:

 

Minor leagues: Arm injury sidelines Sherrill

Mike London

His abbreviated workday is 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., but A.L. Brown graduate Garrett Sherrill would give anything to be putting in eight hours at the ballpark.

The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in Sherrill's right elbow - the joint that launched hundreds of wicked sliders, made him a devastating right-handed pitcher and helped him become a 12th-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers a year ago - has put him on the shelf.

Tommy John surgery is a phrase the 6-foot-5 Sherrill hears often these days, but he and the Brewers are still looking at that option as a last resort.

The affable 21-year-old spends the bulk of his time near Glendale, Ariz., relaxing in a luxury apartment complex that once was home to Manny Ramirez.

The Brewers are putting up Sherrill and a half-dozen fellow rehabbers as they try to get back on track. Sherrill wants to believe he's on the mend, but only time will tell.

"I guess I'm in a good situation to be in such a not-so-good situation," Sherrill said. "This place is really nice, 10 minutes from downtown Phoenix, but I wish things were different."

A lot of people care about Sherrill's elbow because he was one of the more popular athletes to come out of Kannapolis in recent decades.

He was a 1,000-point scorer for the basketball team, a kicker for the football team and a standout who dominated with his arm, bat and glove on the baseball diamond.

The NPC was really something during Sherrill's time, just as it is now. West Rowan was the 3A state runner-up in 2004 and Northwest Cabarrus was the state runner-up in 2005. All you need to know about Sherrill is that A.L. Brown won the NPC tournament both of those years.

Kannapolis interrupted Rowan County's domination to win three Area III American Legion championships during Sherrill's years. He was surrounded by super players, but his 26 wins on the mound and .400 batting average made him as responsible as anyone for that run.

Sherrill turned down ACC schools and South Carolina to go to Appalachian State. He was a standout from the start. The Mountaineers used him often, both starting and relieving, and he finished his three-year career with 14 saves to rank No. 2 on ASU's all-time list.

The Brewers admired his bulldog efforts in Boone - ASU coach Chris Pollard said Sherrill was as good a competitor as he's ever had - as well as his summer success in the elite Cape Cod League. He was the 368th player picked last June.

Some nights things went exactly as they were supposed to for Sherrill out west in the Pioneer League. On July 31, he relieved in the ninth for the Helena Brewers at Great Falls and threw one pitch for a game-ending double play and save.

His ERA of 4.71 last summer showed he had learning to do, but his 46 strikeouts in 361/3 innings showed he had the stuff to succeed.

He was assigned to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class A Midwest League to start this season, but things didn't go well.

"My velocity was down a little - I was 86-87 instead of 88-89 - but my stuff was pretty good and my ball had a lot of run on it," Sherrill said. "The negative was I was struggling with control and walking too many people. There were times warming up that I didn't feel quite right, but once I got out there on the mound adrenaline took over and I didn't feel anything."

His last outing on May 6 was one of his best as a pro. It came in a 6-2 loss to Burlington, but he was sharp in a mop-up role for three innings. No runs. One hit. Three strikeouts. His ERA, which had looked like his shoe size, dropped to 6.10.

"I felt a tweak a couple of times in that game," Sherrill said. "There wasn't any one moment where I felt a sharp pain or anything, but I knew something was wrong.

"I've pitched in pain before and I could've kept throwing this time, but I knew I wouldn't be able to have the year I wanted to have and put up the numbers I wanted to put up."

Sherrill informed coaches and trainers he was feeling discomfort. An MRI revealed bad news. Sherrill's UCL was partially torn, probably worn down from the repetitive stress of cutting loose all those sliders.

Had the ligament been torn completely, he would have had limited options: either Tommy John surgery to replace the UCL or retirement at age 21.

Instead, Sherrill finds himself in a gray area, following a program with about a 50-50 success rate and living in a plush apartment in steamy Arizona.

Milwaukee trainers are optimistic Sherrill will recover with rest and careful rehab. Scar tissue eventually should heal the damaged ligament.

"They've shut me down, but they don't think the tear is far enough for Tommy John," Sherrill explained.

Sherrill's sophisticated rehab started with ultrasound and massage treatments. It's gotten more physical lately, with plyometrics and weights. He feels his right shoulder getting stronger. That's important because a more powerful shoulder will theoretically take strain off his elbow when he pitches. Nothing hurts in any of his workouts - unless he moves his elbow a certain way.

The current timetable is for Sherrill to pick up a baseball again in late July. He'll start a conservative throwing program then. In a perfect world, he'll be back on a mound for a ballgame in front of a crowd before this season ends.

Until the moments of truth arrive in late July, he'll marvel at the Arizona weather. It's 105 degrees at 10 a.m. and 108 in the afternoon. He'd like to work up a sweat running poles at the ballpark, but it's the sort of dry heat that doesn't lend itself to perspiration.

Sherrill has plenty of time to think - about friends Kyle Seager and Daniel Wagner being drafted earlier this month and about former teammates Brett Bartles and Zach Ward being released by big-league organizations this year.

His own dream is temporarily on hold, but it's still alive.

"If the rehab and the throwing program don't work out, it's probably going to mean Tommy John," Sherrill said. "If that happens, I'll deal with it."

[Mass Haas]

Post-Crescent blog entry on Cody Adams' status --

 

"He's not hurt," Isom said. "It was just a chance for us to take him off-line, if you will, and work on some mechanical type stuff."

 

MiLB certainly looks the other way with roster manipulation.

[juancastillo3]

"He's not hurt," Isom said. "It was just a chance for us to take him off-line, if you will, and work on some mechanical type stuff."

 

MiLB certainly looks the other way with roster manipulation.

Why DL him though? The Rattlers roster is currently only at 23. Hopefully Miller will be back soon but that still leaves one open spot. Seidel maybe?

[battlekow]

Adam McCalvy reports that Chris Dennis injured a tendon and will be out 4-6 weeks and, via the Appleton Post-Crescent, that Steve Braun fractured his ankle and might be out the rest of the year.